Large-Scale Epidemiologic Studies of Cardiovascular Diseases in China: Need for Improved Data Collection, Methods, Transparency, and Documentation.

With the advent of international precision medicine initiatives, it is important to evaluate existing large-scale studies to inform future investigation. This study sought to review, describe, and evaluate all large-scale cardiovascular disease (CVD) studies completed in China. We undertook a review of all large-scale CVD studies completed in China to describe and evaluate their design, implementation, and dissemination in published medical reports.

Worsening Rural-Urban Gap in Hospital Mortality.

Background: One out of every 5 Americans live in rural communities. Rural Americans have higher rates of early and preventable deaths outside of the hospital than their urban counterparts. How rurality relates to hospital mortality is unknown.

Reductions in Readmission Rates Are Associated With Modest Improvements in Patient-reported Health Gains Following Hip and Knee Replacement in England.

Background: Although many hospital readmission reduction initiatives have been introduced globally, health care systems ultimately aim to improve patients' health and well-being. We examined whether the hospitals that report greater success in reducing readmissions also see greater improvements in patient-reported outcomes.

Research Design: We examined hospital groups (Trusts) that provided hip replacement or knee replacement surgery in England between April 2010 and February 2013.

Heterogeneity in Early Responses in ALLHAT (Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial).

Randomized trials of hypertension have seldom examined heterogeneity in response to treatments over time and the implications for cardiovascular outcomes. Understanding this heterogeneity, however, is a necessary step toward personalizing antihypertensive therapy. We applied trajectory-based modeling to data on 39 763 study participants of the ALLHAT (Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial) to identify distinct patterns of systolic blood pressure (SBP) response to randomized medications during the first 6 months of the trial.

Voices from Flint: Community Perceptions of the Flint Water Crisis.

We describe the self-reported socioeconomic and health impacts, as well as the coping mechanisms employed by a drug-using cohort of adults during the Flint water crisis (FWC) in Flint, Michigan. Participants from an ongoing longitudinal Emergency Department study were contacted between April 2016 and July 2016 and completed a survey focusing on exposure, consequences, and coping strategies. One hundred thirty-three participants (mean age = 26, 65% African-American, 61% public assistance) completed the survey (37.

Low-Income Children With Chronic Conditions Face Increased Costs If Shifted From CHIP To Marketplace Plans.

More than eight million children risk having their health insurance coverage disrupted if federal funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is not extended beyond 2017. In this study we explored two current policy alternatives: extending federal funding for CHIP or enrolling children in the existing health insurance Marketplace plans. We simulated annual out-of-pocket expenses using detailed health plan data from CHIP and federally facilitated Marketplace plans for a nationally representative cohort of children with chronic conditions, conducting comparisons at four different percentage categories of the federal poverty level.

Discovery of temporal and disease association patterns in condition-specific hospital utilization rates.

Identifying temporal variation in hospitalization rates may provide insights about disease patterns and thereby inform research, policy, and clinical care. However, the majority of medical conditions have not been studied for their potential seasonal variation. The objective of this study was to apply a data-driven approach to characterize temporal variation in condition-specific hospitalizations.

The Affordable Care Act, Insurance Coverage, and Health Care Utilization of Previously Incarcerated Young Men: 2008-2015.

Objectives: To estimate health insurance and health care utilization patterns among previously incarcerated men following implementation of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) Medicaid expansion and Marketplace plans in 2014.

Methods: We performed serial cross-sectional analyses using data from the National Survey of Family Growth between 2008 and 2015. Our sample included men aged 18 to 44 years with (n = 3476) and without (n = 8702) a history of incarceration.

Sex Differences in 1-Year All-Cause Rehospitalization in Patients After Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Prospective Observational Study.

Background: Compared with men, women are at higher risk of rehospitalization in the first month after discharge for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, it is unknown whether this risk extends to the full year and varies by age. Explanatory factors potentially mediating the relationship between sex and rehospitalization remain unexplored and are needed to reduce readmissions.

Sex differences in lipid profiles and treatment utilization among young adults with acute myocardial infarction: Results from the VIRGO study.

Background: Young women with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have higher mortality risk than similarly aged men. An adverse lipid profile is an important risk factor for cardiovascular outcomes after AMI, but little is known about whether young women with AMI have a higher-risk lipid pattern than men. We characterized sex differences in lipid profiles and treatment utilization among young adults with AMI.

Trends of Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Use in Ophthalmology Among Privately Insured and Medicare Advantage Patients.

Purpose: To characterize the first 10 years of intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) medication use for ophthalmic disease, including bevacizumab, ranibizumab, and aflibercept.

Design: A retrospective cohort study using administrative claims data from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2015.

Subjects: Total of 124 835 patients 18 years of age or over in the United States.

Clinical research data sharing: what an open science world means for researchers involved in evidence synthesis.

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recently announced a bold step forward to require data generated by interventional clinical trials that are published in its member journals to be responsibly shared with external investigators. The movement toward a clinical research culture that supports data sharing has important implications for the design, conduct, and reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. While data sharing is likely to enhance the science of evidence synthesis, facilitating the identification and inclusion of all relevant research, it will also pose key challenges, such as requiring broader search strategies and more thorough scrutiny of identified research.

Perspectives from NHLBI Global Health Think Tank Meeting for Late Stage (T4) Translation Research.

Almost three-quarters (74%) of all the noncommunicable disease burden is found within low- and middle-income countries. In September 2014, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute held a Global Health Think Tank meeting to obtain expert advice and recommendations for addressing compelling scientific questions for late stage (T4) research-research that studies implementation strategies for proven effective interventions-to inform and guide the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's global health research and training efforts. Major themes emerged in two broad categories: 1) developing research capacity; and 2) efficiently defining compelling scientific questions within the local context.